Religious leaders and Shimon Peres against sectarian violence

The leaders of different faith communities and religious traditions met former Israeli President Shimon Peres to talk about the escalation of violence that is bloodying the Holy Land again. The meeting, which took place on Tuesday, October 13 at the Peres Center for Peace in Tel Aviv, was also attended by Sheikh Mohamad Kiwan, head of imams in Israel, Sheikh Mouafaq Price, spiritual leader of the Druze community, the Chief Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar, and the Greek-Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III.

During the meeting, according to what was reported by the official organs of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, former President Peres reiterated the need to jointly oppose terrorism and violence committed in the name of God, loudly proclaiming “that there is no God that approves murder”. Peres also said that Israel had no intention of encouraging tensions in the region. While Father George Ayoub, who attended the meeting as Chancellor of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, pointed out that “occupation remains the problem”, and to break the cycle of endless violence, the only way is to put an end to occupation and realize the creation of a Palestinian State based on the borders recognized by the UN in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.